GIRL GERMS: A BROOKLYN SCENE REPORT IN PORTUGUESE

Most comments I get on the daily are from spam-bots. So you can't possibly imagine how happy I was to get this one today, from a real person; a real person from Brazil named Carla, at that:

I'm from brazil, punk and feminist. I read the Girl Germs scene report on MRR. I liked it and I just translated it to portuguese... I found your blog and I'm telling you in case you want to take a look. Hope you don't mind!

QUITE the opposite, Carla. I don't think I could be happier that you translated the article! I seriously almost cried. Check out GIRL GERMS: A BROOKLYN SCENE REPORT in Portuguese here.

REVIEW: The Girls' Guide to Rocking

Here's the review I did of Jessica Hopper's Girls' Guide to Rocking for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #318, November 2009).

[UNEDITED]

The Girls’ Guide to Rocking
Jessica Hopper
288 pages
Workman Publishing
http://www.workman.com/

The Girls’ Guide to Rocking is just that, and that’s what makes it totally radical. The first time I saw Jessica Hopper speak she read an inspiring piece about being a grunge poser in her teens, and it was the greatest thing my ears had ever heard. She ended on the note that Bikini Kill taught her to be herself and that she could do whatever she wanted -- incidentally, this meant playing music and touring and becoming one of the freshest music critics currently writing.

GIRL COMMUNITY POST-SCRIPT

Thanks so much for the shout outs (or holla backs?) from STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, ROCK & THE SINGLE GIRL, KING KOG, and TOM TOM MAGAZINE re: Girl Germs: A Brooklyn Scene Report.

One thing I wanted to touch on was the criticism I got for missing out on certain bands in the Scene Report. Jamie, blogger at Rock & The Single Girl, touched on this a little bit by mentioning "there isn't enough documentation of some of the amazing girl and punk bands I've been following." This is my sentiment exactly, there's never enough documentation of what the women are doing. In most instances, it's taken considerably more effort for girls to begin playing music and start their own scenes. Since we're usually the documentarians, it gets even harder to work double duty and be sure we get it all on paper.

I can't cover everything, and neither can just one article. "It's going to take more than one person, and more than one scene report to capture and contextualize the art being produced by these women..."

Please keep in mind that Maximum Rocknroll is a democratic publication. If you want to see more girl bands in it, PLEASE, write a follow up to the Scene Report, write your own article, send them your demos for review! Heck, review demos for them! I got involved because I like the mag and because I wanted to see more girl involvement. Luckily, I can say an old bandmate of mine (hey Diane!) is currently the Distro Coordinator there, and I sweat so many of the women writing for them currently - Layla Gibbon, Osa of New Bloods and Shotgun Seamstress... anyway, what I'm saying is, please get involved in the documentation process of girl bands, girl scenes and queer or feminist projects! My article was not meant to be the end-all be-all of what's happening with women in the New York punk scene, I just want to make us more visible. Also, MRR is looking for a content coordinator, so you should apply!

XO

GIRL GERMS: A BROOKLYN SCENE REPORT

Holy shit! I am so excited to ring in my favorite season with some really exciting news. I just got the October issue of Maximum Rocknroll (the Queer Issue) in the mail. I wrote up a Brooklyn scene report for it and to my surprise... it's the first article after all the regular columns and it's a fucking 2-page spread! Right before queercore in Brazil and an autobiography by Gary Floyd! What in the world?

Also, they forgot to credit the photographers (or maybe they didn't have enough space) - but in order, thank you to Orlando Perez, Dave Sanders and Konstantin Sergeyev for letting me use their photos.

So without further ado... here's the unedited version I sent to MRR. I also uploaded PDFs of the printed version here & here (these files are HUGE - they're 300 dpi and meant for printing in case you can't get your hands on a copy - though for now the issue is available at Maximum Rocknroll!)

GIRL GERMS: A BROOKLYN SCENE REPORT

by KATE WADKINS

(featured in Maxmimum Rocknroll #317)

REVIEW: Jin & Jam #1

Here's the review I did of Hellen Jo's Jin & Jam #1 for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #315, August 2009).

[UNEDITED]

Jin & Jam #1

By Hellen Jo

Sparkplug Comics

I liked this comic book the minute I laid eyes on it. I mean, I know you’re not supposed to judge like that, but come on – the cover is bright yellow and there’s two badass girls smokin’ cigarettes in a cloud of unidentifiable confetti on it. I’ll take it!

REVIEW: Resistance Behind Bars

A sudden return to writing. I guess it's been awhile on that front, but I don't like posting my reviews before they actually get published. July's MRR just came out and to my surprise, my review of Resistance Behind Bars was in there. Also, check out the awesome review of the Zombie Dogs demo and some other cool lady-punk jams by the likes of Turboslut and Libyans!

[UNEDITED]

Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women
By Victoria Law
PM Press
http://www.pmpress.org/
2009

Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women is a premier effort to increase the visibility of women’s prison resistance in the United States. Victoria Law has dedicated much of her life to prisoners’ resistance, honing in on the lack of discussion about the specific plight that women face in prison, and their efforts to challenge the prison system. Law started off self-publishing prisoners’ stories in zines and circulating them in publications like Clamor, Punk Planet, and off our backs. A lot of this work is represented and revisited here, in Law’s first book, Resistance Behind Bars.

MRR

Maximum Rocknroll has had a major site overhaul, you should check it out! Speaking of which, one of my past reviews didn't make it to print and I'm not reviewing for the August issue. So keep yr eyes out for a review of Resistance Behind Bars here, after I return from Chi-boogie!

REVIEW: Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture

Here's the review I did of Stephen Duncombe's Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #312, May 2009).

[UNEDITED]

Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture
By Stephen Duncombe
Microcosm Publishing
http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/

Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture is not only a history of zines, but an attempt to theorize the existence and meaning of zines throughout this history. Originally released in 1997 by Verso, it has been re-released in a new edition for 2008 by Microcosm Publishing. Stephen Duncombe traces the zine movement back to sci-fi fanzines of the 1930s, and even the early political pamphleteers.

REVIEW: London's Burning

Here's the review I did of Dave Thompson's London’s Burning: True Adventures on the Frontlines of Punk, 1976-1977 for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #311, April 2009).

[UNEDITED]

London’s Burning: True Adventures on the Frontlines of Punk, 1976-1977
By Dave Thompson
Chicago Review Press
http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/

London’s Burning by Dave Thompson is treading ground that has been trod many times before, the birth of punk: 1976-1977. As much as this might seem redundant, and the subtitle “TRUE ADVENTURES ON THE FRONTLINES OF PUNK” might seem a bit overdramatic, it does kind of embody Thompson’s approach to this time period, which is that of the anticipation and excitement of a young kid in a burgeoning new scene.

REVIEW: CHE: A Graphic Biography by Spain Rodriguez

Here's the review I did of Spain Rodriguez's CHE: A Graphic Biography for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #309, February 2009).

[UNEDITED]

CHE: A Graphic Biography
Spain Rodriguez
120 pages - $17
Verso Books
http://versobooks.com/

Spain Rodriguez is a radical-comic-artist-turned-radical-historian in his latest book, CHE: A Graphic Biography. Manuel "Spain" Rodriguez teamed up with author and lecturer Paul Buhle to illustrate the life and adventures of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in this entertaining and painstaking comic work. Spain, the legendary underground comic artist, is a logical candidate for this project, as his history is rooted in radical political comics. Graphically, the first artist I thought of while viewing Rodriguez's work was R. Crumb. Another logical connection: R. Crumb was the founding member of Zap Comix, and a fellow founder of the underground comics movement of the 1960's, both of which Spain was also an integral part.

REVIEW: Bad Habits by Cristy Road

Here's the review I did of Cristy Road's new novel, Bad Habits, for Maximum Rocknroll (issue #308, January 2009).

[UNEDITED]

BAD HABITS

By Cristy Road

224 pages - $14.95

Softskull Press

http://www.softskull.com/

Cristy Road is infamous for her gender queer, sex positive drawings and her rowdy narratives about the dingy underground. Bad Habits is no exception. This is her second novel, following 2006's Indestructible, with about twice the content – closing in on nearly 200 pages of heavy analogies and gritty illustrations.

Through the protagonist Carmencita, a Cuban-American Miami transplant living in New York, Road weaves a story about surviving in an ever-changing city. Often using the cityscape as a metaphor, she explores the connections between race, class, gender, and madness. Cristy Road's unique voice creates vibrant scenery and equally vibrant characters. Her fluorescent descriptions of the simultaneously tattered, decaying, yet magical atmosphere of New York City evoke likeness to the otherworldly narratives of Francesca Lia Block.